History: Wait, what? This really happened?

The Something Awful Forums > Archives > Comedy Goldmine > History: Wait, what? This really happened?

enginedriver: Jul 16, 2010

Thikskul posted:

Huh? Hasn't everyone heard of the boogie woogie fever?

I believe it happened some time around the 1600's. Here's an historically accurate portrayal.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l7Nb4voFm30

# ¿ Jan 18, 2011 23:17

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# ¿ Apr 24, 2024 02:58

enginedriver: Jul 16, 2010

I don't think we build explosives to last.

# ¿ Feb 2, 2011 11:04

enginedriver: Jul 16, 2010

Limbo posted:

And speaking of the modern Olympics, we think of them as massive productions, with a lot of media interest, especially in the hosting country. But the Olympics of 1904 were held in St Louis, Missouri, in conjunction with the World's Fair and ended up being pretty much overshadowed by all the Fair hoopla. But there were some interesting moments.

According to the Wikipedia article:

"The marathon was the most bizarre event of the Games. It was run in brutally hot weather, over dusty roads, with horses and automobiles clearing the way and creating dust clouds. The first to arrive at the finish line was Frederick Lorz, who actually was just trotting back to the finish line to retrieve his clothes, after dropping out after nine miles. When the officials thought he had won the race, Lorz played along with his practical joke until he was found out shortly after the medal ceremony and was banned for a year by the AAU for this stunt, later winning the 1905 Boston Marathon.

Thomas Hicks (a Briton running for the United States) was the first to cross the finish-line legally, after having received several doses of strychnine sulfate mixed with brandy from his trainers. He was supported by his trainers when he crossed the finish, but is still considered the winner. Hicks had to be carried off the track, and possibly would have died in the stadium, had he not been treated by several doctors. A Cuban postman named Felix Carbajal joined the marathon, arriving at the last minute. He had to run in street clothes that he cut around the legs to make them look like shorts. He stopped off in an orchard en route to have a snack on some apples, which turned out to be rotten. The rotten apples caused him to have to lie down and take a nap. Despite falling ill to apples he finished in fourth place.

The marathon included the first two black Africans to compete in the Olympics; two Tswana tribesmen named Len Tau (real name: Len Taunyane) and Yamasani (real name: Jan Mashiani). But they weren't there to compete in the Olympics, they were actually the sideshow. They had been brought over by the exposition as part of the Boer War exhibit (both were really students from Orange Free State in South Africa, but this fact was not made known to the public). Len Tau finished ninth and Yamasani came in twelfth. This was a disappointment, as many observers were sure Len Tau could have done better if he had not been chased nearly a mile off course by aggressive dogs."

This is the greatest thing to ever happen in all history, and this thread is the greatest thread ever on SA.

# ¿ Feb 15, 2011 11:42

enginedriver: Jul 16, 2010

It was adopted from the language/writing created by a Byzantine called Cyril who impressed the Rus to join orthodoxy over Islam or Catholicism. I just finished those amazing Byzantine podcasts posted earlier in this thread. The final ruler is just epic.

# ¿ Mar 8, 2011 23:06

enginedriver: Jul 16, 2010

Paddyo posted:

Word. Listening to those podcasts got me to crank up EUIII as the Byzzies, and lets just say this time things went down a little differently...

Hah! I think its time for me to play some Total War..

Xmas Pterodactyl posted:

Do you have a link to them? I looked a view pages back and couldn't see any. Sounds interesting!

http://anders.com/lectures/lars_brownworth/12_byzantine_rulers/

# ¿ Mar 9, 2011 23:24

enginedriver: Jul 16, 2010

routlej1 posted:

Nice, thanks for that.

Linked on that page is "The War of the Rough Wooing". This gets my vote for sexiest named war ever.

Any other contenders?

I was going to point to the wikipedia entry on Richard the Lionheart where I read about a year ago that he died at the walls of "Sexy Castle" but it would appear I have been trolled.

# ¿ Mar 15, 2011 15:40

enginedriver: Jul 16, 2010

Michaelos posted:

This lead me to find http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Self-surgery which lead me to read about
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evan_O%27Neill_Kane Who apparently also removed his own appendix, and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/In%C3%A9s_Ram%C3%ADrez who apparently gave herself a cesarean section.

The entire self surgery article makes for crazy reading.

"After operating on herself for an hour, she reached inside her uterus and pulled out her baby boy.[1] She then severed the umbilical cord with a pair of scissors and became unconscious.[1] She used clothes to bandage her wound after regaining consciousness, and sent her son to find help"

Man that kid was one hell of a fast learner.

# ¿ Mar 21, 2011 19:11

enginedriver: Jul 16, 2010

This thread just gets better and better. Great posts Econosaurus.

# ¿ Mar 27, 2011 22:33

enginedriver: Jul 16, 2010

twistedmentat posted:

One of my favorite things about studying history is seeing how early humans were way more advanced than popular culture would have us believe.

That always seems to be such a popular arrogance. Like ok we have fossils of people in Australia dating back 60,000 years but we just KNOW they couldn't simply have been ocean-going by then. It's a mystery! I don't know why we don't just give early people more credit.

# ¿ Mar 28, 2011 22:58

enginedriver: Jul 16, 2010

In terms of ritual uncleanliness does the bible distinguish between prostitution and leprosy/other stigmas? Because I always thought his acceptance of the prostitute as a person was different to curing a leper but are these really similar examples of breaking convention, it's just our modern take has separated them?

# ¿ Mar 31, 2011 23:29

enginedriver: Jul 16, 2010

Iron Chef Nex posted:

Indeed:

This is probably a really dumb question, but how come planets and moons are a mix of rock and dust and er stuff. I mean like Mars has clear evidence of water erosion, but say a moon with little to no atmosphere; what determines its appearance?

# ¿ Apr 4, 2011 22:24

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# ¿ Apr 24, 2024 02:58

enginedriver: Jul 16, 2010

khwarezm posted:

Also interesting is the fact that the boomerang was not exclusive to Australia It has been found in Poland,Arizona, India and even Tutankhamen's tomb. The best theory as to why it was used in Australia over the Bow and arrow is that it is better suited to taking out upright standing prey (kangaroos, Emus) and also that it was easier to fashion from the wood available in Australia than a Bow and Arrow.

After visiting museums in Australia and Egypt I think a lot of boomerangs were use to look like a bird of prey circling over head, which drove the prey in people on the ground with nets nearby.

# ¿ Apr 14, 2011 10:37

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